We all have the potential to be great leaders, an impressive title at work definitely isn't required. If you influence other human beings, which everyone does whether they realize it or not, it's important to behave with qualities that can be characterized as those a respected leader would possess. Without such behaviors, relationships are much more likely to face challenges. That's what great leaders do, they influence other people through formal and informal relationships to help them reach their potential, help their departments reach its goals, and ultimately to help the organization suceed.

 

Through coaching, I help uncover underlying issues and work with clients to resolve them. While many people, including me, believed my professional persona kept out all personal challenges, I learned that the subconscious mind doesn't differentiate between personal and professional behaviors. While I may have had less fear in professional relationships, similar issues surfaced to some degree in both areas of my life. For instance, I managed conflict better professionally than personally, but I still didn't manage it as effectively as I could have to function optimally as a leader. I had more confidence in my professional persona than I did personally, but at my core, I still felt inadequate—never quite enough of anything or always too much of something.

Figuring out why I felt the way I did about myself has allowed me to become the optimal version of myself as a person and a leader. And that's how I can help you function optimally professionally and as a byproduct you'll have the opportunity to function optimally in your personal lives as well. When you understand why you think, believe, and behave as you do, you no longer need to fear your inner self and gain the ability to lead your human team to serve your organization's human customers with care and concern. When you allow yourself to be human while striving for personal excellence, your team's culture can transform into one where every human interaction matters. And when every human interaction matters, employee engagement, employee retention, customer satisfaction, and profits improve.